Farewell Boys of Summer

It is 9:30 at night and Boy 1 and I are on the sofa, watching the first World Series game. Mr. Fantastic is on campus at the college Bible study meeting. I am being generous, letting my sports-enthused son stay up way too late. I am also being selfish, craving company with the boy who is sprinting ahead of me into his own wide world of life.

Yesterday was the first day that really felt like autumn. There is a photo of Boy 3 jumping into the pool on my screen saver. It makes me bittersweetly happy to look at. That was the day he overcame his fear of deep water. We had quite a summer. I am not so sure I am ready to move on.

This was the summer all the boys were able to swim- really swim- together. Boy 2 and Boy 3 learned to ride their bikes this summer. The Baby Lady learned to float on her back and swim to me. We went on a plane to Florida and went to Disneyworld. Boy 1 learned the value of personal achievement, as well as how to successfully lose some swim races. Mr. Fantastic and I learned, in so many ways, how to be more than we are, how to trust more than we thought we could, and how to love through the exhaustion of those lessons.

The value of our life is in the giving of ourselves. That is our lesson. That is our quest.

Tonight I am baking pumpkin cookies, shyly welcoming the cooler weather and the new season. The sight of boys in hoodies playing football in the yard, the comfort of hot tea and cocoa and cozy jammies, the wonderful sound of cold wind through oak leaves are all easing me out of our golden summer.

But I will remember its beauty as I seek the joy of new things in glorious autumn afternoons.

And so my life will be spent, loving the God who gave me breath, the man who loves me most and the winsome, child-shaped shadows that seem to dart around me gleefully all day. They are always changing and growing through the seasons of our life. Life is as it is meant to be.

Welcome, Fall.